Wachovia
** This post was produced at 7:30 am today and set to got out at 10am. Since then, events have changed and are listed at the bottom **
When I thought my bank would be okay I forgot they did mortgages and were forced by the Clinton era law to give loans to people by color and not financial responsibility.
Below is the message on the Wachovia website from the CEO:
September 26, 2008
Dear Wachovia Clients, Shareholders and Friends,
Financial markets and our industry are undergoing unprecedented change. We are watching these events carefully and must plan and remain flexible. Therefore, we are strategically protecting and managing liquidity and capital in this challenging environment.
Wachovia has many advantages: excellent service across our businesses, an exceptional retail franchise renowned for customer satisfaction, one of the largest brokerage platforms covering the affluent markets and expertise to meet the specialized needs of our many corporate customers.
Our core franchises are extremely valuable and continue to operate well relative to our competition.
We remain optimistic that our leadership in Washington will provide comfort to the markets with a plan to stabilize the housing and short-term funding markets.
For years Wachovia has been a forward-thinking force to help fuel business growth, create and manage personal wealth and build strong communities. We intend to remain focused, continue serving customers like no other competitor and utilize our many skills and talents in order to protect the value of our franchise.
Thank you for your trust in Wachovia.
Sincerely,
Robert K. Steel
President and CEO
Well if that is suppose to reassure me, it doesn’t.
Wachovia Corp., which catapulted to the top of the U.S. banking industry with relentless acquisitions of weaker rivals, was in advanced discussions Sunday night to sell itself to Wells Fargo & Co., according to people familiar with the situation.
Wachovia was also holding talks with Citigroup Inc., but by late evening Wells Fargo appeared to be the preferred bidder. Details of the proposed transaction weren’t immediately clear, and the discussions could fall apart at the last moment.
I guess I thought Wachovia was more stable than this with its various divisions keeping it standing – but the blinders are off now and we need to make a decision here.
Do we leave all our money in the uninsured money market account, or move it? I don’t want a run on the bank, because that will do nothing but help a collapse, so I feel we’re damned if we do, damned if we don’t.
Damn.
Additional Reading: The Anchoress: Why our financial system nearly collapsed – UPDATED
Updated: Citigroup will buy Wachovia’s banking operations; FDIC says Wachovia didn’t fail - Citigroup Inc. will acquire the banking operations of Wachovia Corp., one of the nation’s largest banks, in a deal facilitated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Citigroup will absorb up to $42 billion of losses in the deal, with the FDIC covering any remaining losses, the government agency
